Adaptable exhaust fan housing

ABSTRACT

The present invention provides an adaptable fan housing having indentation markings to facilitate the installation of the fan housing. The present invention also provides positioning clips and securing clips allowing to further facilitate the installation of a fan housing of the present invention within a ceiling or a wall. The present invention also has cover clips which allows an easy installation of a cover to be secured to the fan housing.

This application claims priority to U.S. Ser. No. 61/484,755, entitled ADJUSTABLE EXHAUST FAN HOUSING, filed May 11, 2011, which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

I. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

A. Field of Invention

The present invention relates to a housing assembly for use in heating and ventilating systems (HVAC) and, in particular, to an adaptable housing for an exhaust fan.

B. Description of the Related Art

Exhaust fans are omnipresent in our daily lives: primarily located in kitchens and bathrooms, they are usually responsible for drawing moisture and odors out of said rooms. These fans are enclosed in a housing made of metal or plastic, which is utilized in order to facilitate airflow and contain dust and other particles from spreading within the drywall. The housing also usually comprises of a grille covering the air intake part of the fan housing.

These systems need maintenance and thus require ease of access, both in order to remove the grille (as a separate unit) and to access the fan within. Further, they are required to be stable and steady during the installation due to their cumbersome size. Indeed, the careful and proper placement of the unit is instrumental to an expeditious and efficient installation.

Other exhaust fan housings such as U.S. Pat. No. 4,073,597 (Barnhart & Loftin), U.S. Pat. No. 4,353,680 (Hiraoka, Niwa & Ishii), U.S. Pat. No. 5,879,232 (Luter II & Bickel), U.S. Pat. No. 7,128,303 (Penlesky & Bothe) and U.S. Pat. No. 7,455,500 (Penlesky & Karst) exist that have attempted to overcome said difficulties.

Barnhart et al's invention relates to an exhaust fan housing, which can be fastened to a wall by means of a stabilizer, consisting of a metal plate that can be screwed into a wall to secure the housing. The housing also has a grille and an orifice pan, the latter being clipped into the housing and can be removed by twisting a screwdriver to disengage it. The grille is fastened to the orifice pan by means of a screw. Unfortunately, Barnhart's invention provides only one stabilizer on the housing's side, limiting the person responsible to install the housing to only one point of contact between the housing and the wall. This provides difficulty in placing the housing and in having to move it in order to readjust its position. Further, due to the fact that the grille is a separate piece from the orifice pan and the housing itself, a screwdriver needs to be utilized in order to remove both the grille and orifice pan before getting to the fan.

Hiraoka et al's invention consists of an exhaust fan with a removable face cover (grille). The grille is fastened to the fan's housing by means of a clip-in system whereby the grille clips into the fan housing by means of plastic hooks and protrusions. Unfortunately, in order to conduct maintenance of the fan, one must awkwardly place one's fingers around the grille in order to engage the clips and to access the fan. This can be especially cumbersome when it is a high ceiling fan.

Luter II et al's invention has a different means in order for the grille to be attached to the housing assembly. It incorporates spring clip legs on the grille, which, when squeezed together, can be inserted into spring clip slots on the housing and thus secure the grille therein. Again, it proves cumbersome to install the housing, as it is difficult for the installer to see the spring clip slots and then to remove spring clip legs to access the fan for maintenance.

Penlesky & Bothe's invention relates to a spacer for a fan housing. This cube shaped spacer uses two different lengths in order to secure the fan housing to the surface of a structural support depending on how much spacing is required. However, problems arise if none of said lengths are suitable to mount the fan housing to the structural support.

Penlesky & Karst's invention also secures the grille to the fan housing by means of spring clip legs. However, it can be secured to a structural support by means of fasteners screwed in on either side of the housing. Unfortunately, such fasteners have only location per side of the fan housing and can lead to a lack of stability when installing said housing.

As such, there is a need for a device that can overcome the drawbacks elaborated herein. These features of the invention will be apparent from review of the disclosure, drawings and description of the invention below.

II. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention provides an adaptable fan housing having indentation markings to facilitate the installation of the fan housing. The present invention also provides positioning clips and securing clips allowing to further facilitate the installation of a fan housing of the present invention within a ceiling or a wall. The present invention also has cover clips which allows an easy installation of a cover to be secured to the fan housing.

In a first aspect, the present invention provides an adaptable fan housing comprising at least one fixture marking positioned along a housing edge of the fan housing; at least one positioning clip for operatively coupling to the housing edge at a corresponding fixture marking of the at least one fixture marking on the housing; wherein the at least one positioning clip facilitates mounting of the housing in an opening.

In a second aspect, the invention provides a fan housing system comprising a fan housing; a fan cover having at least one receiving aperture; a fan unit for operatively coupling to the fan housing and having at least one cover clip for flexibly engaging the at least one receiving aperture to mount the fan cover to the housing.

III. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The invention both as to its organization and method of operation, together with further aspects and advantages thereof, may be best understood by reference to the accompanying drawings and text thereof in light of the brief description therefore.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a housing with a fan unit according to one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 a is a perspective view of a housing of the present invention without a fan unit installed within the housing according to one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 b is a perspective view of the bottom surface of a housing according to one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a housing with support rails installed in the rail housing supports according to one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 a is an exploded view of a housing edge with fixture markings, positioning clips and securing clips.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a fan unit as would be installed within a housing according to one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a perspective w of a housing being installed in an opening with the use of positioning clips and securing clips according to one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is an exploded view o he securing of a housing through the use of the positioning clips and securing clips in an opening according to one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 a is a perspective view of a housing secured to a support beam with the use of a support rail and the positioning clips according to one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 b is an exploded view of a housing with the use of the positioning clips being used to secure the housing to a support beam according to one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a bottom view of a cover as would be installed on a housing of the present invention according to one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 9 is a perspective view of a cover being aligned with a housing according to one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 9 a is an exploded view of the cover clips being secured onto a cover for a housing according to one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 10 is a side view of various shapes of cover clips of the present invention.

IV. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The present invention will now be described more fully hereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which preferred embodiments of the present invention are shown. This invention may however, be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as limited to the embodiments set forth herein. Rather, these embodiments are provided so that this application will be thorough in illustrations and brief explanation therefore to convey the true scope of the invention to those skilled in the art. Some illustrations provided herein include detailed explanations of dimension and operation and as such should be not be limited thereto.

The terms “coupled” and “connected”, along with their derivatives, may be used herein. It should be understood that these terms are not intended as synonyms for each other. Rather, in particular embodiments, “connected” may be used to indicate that two or more elements are in direct physical or electrical contact with each other. “Coupled” may be used to indicated that two or more elements are in either direct or indirect (with other intervening elements between them) physical or electrical contact with each other, or that the two or more elements co-operate or interact with each other (e.g. as in a cause and effect relationship).

With reference to FIG. 1, an adaptable exhaust fan housing unit 10 is shown according to one embodiment of the present invention. The housing unit may include a housing 20 that is made of sheet metal and that is substantially in the shape of a box. A worker skilled in the relevant art would be familiar with the use of other materials in order to produce housing 20 for example, housing 20 could be made of plastic or any other material suitable to provide the required rigidity for housing 20. The housing 20 has an opening 30 which allows for the insertion of a fan unit 40 which will be further described below.

The housing 20 also has an exhaust vent adapter 50 allowing for the exhaust of air from the room wherein housing 20 is installed. Housing 20 also has rail housing support 60 allowing for a top rail (not shown) to be installed. Further rail housing supports 70 and 80 are also present which allows for bottom rails (no(shown) to be installed. The fan unit 40 is operatively coupled to the housing 20.

With reference to FIGS. 2 a and 2 b and according to one embodiment of the present invention. housing 20 is shown with opening 30 in an upward fashion without the fan unit installed within housing 20. An exhaust vent 90 is shown without the exhaust vent adapter installed. Top rail housing support 110 and bottom rail housing supports 120 and 130 are shown. With further reference to FIG. 2 b, housing unit 20 has a solid base 100 opposite opening 30. Opposite top rail housing support 60 is also shown as well as bottom rail housing supports 70 and 80 which allow for corresponding rails to be installed on opposite sides of housing 20. The use rails which will be further described below provides six attachment points for housing 20.

With reference to FIG. 3, housing 20 has support rails 65, 72, and 82 installed in support housings 60, 70 and 80. Top support rail 65 is movable along within rail housing support 60 which allows for ease of installation into a support beam (not shown) for example.

Support rails 72 and 82 are moveable as well within housing supports 70 and 80. Rails 122 and 132 are installed within support housings 120 and 130 (not shown in FIG. 3) however are opposite rails 72 and 82. Rails 72 and 82 are moveable within each other allowing for added strength since rail 72 slides over rail 82. Rails 122 and 132 are also moveable within one another as described for rails 72 and 82. Rails 72, 82, 122 and 132 all have ends that can be bent to an indicated thickness of the ceiling/wall namely ½ or ⅝ inches.

With reference to FIGS. 3 and 3 a, two opposite side edges of housing 20 have fixture indentations allowing for ease of installation of the housing in a wall or ceiling opening. An opening for the purpose of this invention is defined and includes an opening within a wall as well as an opening in a ceiling wall. A first set of fixture markings are composed of indentations 140, 142, 144 and 146 with indentations 140 and 144 marked as indentations ⅝ and indentations 142 and 146 marked as indentations ½ along housing edge 25. These corresponding indentations allow for the installation of housing 20 within a wall or ceiling having a thickness of ⅝ or ½ inch for example dry wall of this thickness. The use of positioning clips 150 and 160 within the indentations for the desired wall thickness allows to mount the housing 20 within a wall opening in a suspended state maintained by clips 150 and 160 positioned on opposite sides of the housing. The positioning clips 150 and 160 are operatively coupled to the housing edge 25. To secure the housing onto a wall (no(shown) a securing clip 170 is shown which aligns with positioning clips 150 and 160 and will be further described below. For ease of use and installation, the positioning clips are stamped with letter A and the location as to where the positioning clips 150 and 160 should be installed on housing 20 is also stamped as location A. The securing clip 170 is stamped with letter B and the installation of securing clip 170 onto housing 20 is identified as location B. The securing clip 170 is operatively coupled to the positioning clips 150 and 160.

With further reference to FIG. 3 a, a securing clip 170 is shown which is positioned over the positioning clips 150 and 160. For example, clips 150 and 160 are moveable and can be engaged within indentation 140 and 144 allowing for the installation of a wall with a thickness of ⅝ inches. The housing edge 25 will be flush with the wall surface since the positioning clips 150 and 160 will mount housing 20 in a suspended state with ⅝ inches of housing 20 protruding within the wall opening (not shown). In order to secure the housing onto the wall/ceiling opening, securing clip 170 is slidably engageable in between indentations 140 and 144 and will secure itself to opening 172 for a wall thickness of ⅝ inches. If a desired wall/ceiling thickness is ½ inch then securing clip 170 would be positioned within opening 174 as well as positioning clips 150 and 160 would be positioned within corresponding indentations 142 and 146.

With reference to FIG. 4, a fan unit 40 as would be installed into housing 20 (not shown) is shown having a base plate 180. A fan motor 190 is attached to fan mount 200 secured to base plate 180. Cover clips 210 and 220 are also secured to base plate 180 allowing for a cover (not shown) to be secured to the housing. Base plate 180 has lips 230, 235 and 240 with lip 240 used as a pivot point with housing 20 allowing for pivoting of base plate 180 once installed in housing as shown in FIG. 1. Lips 250 and 255 are opposite lip 240 and are spaced apart with lever 260 which further secures base plate 180 into housing. Base plate 180 is positioned within housing (not shown) until lever 260 is positioned underneath indentations protruding inwards in the housing. A worker skilled in the relevant art would be familiar with a number of different systems that can be used to secure lever 260 into the housing such as an extended protrusion along the inner housing wall for example. A worker skilled in the relevant art would also be familiar with the use of lip 240 to be supported by a slot with a trailing edge within the interior of the housing. Clips 210 and 220 as shown allow for ease of installation of the cover by simply aligning the receiving ends of the cover with cover clips 210 and 220. The installation of the cover (not shown) will be further described below.

With reference to FIG. 5, a housing unit 20 is shown with positioning clips 150, 155, 160 and 165 is aligned with opposite sides of unit 20. The positioning clips will provide the suspended support for unit 20 to be installed in opening 270 of a ceiling/wall 280. The positioning clips 150, 155, 160 and 165 rest on the top surface of ceiling/wall 280. The securing clips 170 and 175 align with positioning clips 150, 155, 160 and 165 along the edge of the walls of housing 20 with a portion of both securing clips resting along the bottom surface of ceiling/wall 260.

With reference to FIG. 6, the housing 20 is shown secured for example to a ceiling wall 280 with the positioning clip 150 resting on the top surface of ceiling wall 260 and securing clip 170 also moveable and engaged into a wall of unit 20 wherein a drywall screw 290 for example is used to secure the unit 20 to the wall 280. The drywall screw 290 travels through openings (not shown) in both the positioning clip 140 and securing clip 170 allowing for the drywall screw to be parallel the wall of unit 20. The use of securing clip 170 and positioning clip 150 also allows for the centering of housing 20 within the ceiling 280, for example, as a space 295 might be created or used in between housing 20 and ceiling 280.

With reference to FIGS. 7 a and 7 b, a housing unit 20 is secured to a support beam 300 for example through the use of the positioning clips 150 and 160. The securing clips are secured to support beam 300 through the use of drywall screws for example or any other securing means as would be known by a worker skilled in the relevant art. The unit 20 is further secured to the support beam 300 through the use of a rail support 360 positioned within rail 65. The rail support is Moveable which allows for the rail support to be tightly positioned against the support beam 300. Once the rail support is tightly positioned against the support beam a wood screw can be used to secure it firmly against the support beam 350.

With reference to FIG. 8. a cover 310 as would installed on a housing of the present invention (not shown) has an inner lip 320 which meshes with the opening of a housing of the present invention. Along the inner lip 320 are positioned receiving apertures 330 and 340 which allow for the clips defined on the fan unit to secure the cover 320 to the housing. The receiving apertures 330 and 340 are off centered in the present drawing, however, a worker skilled in the relevant would be familiar that the receiving apertures could be opposite one another or any other location along the inner lip 320 as long that the receiving apertures coincide with the clips as installed on the fan unit. The offset of receiving apertures 330 and 340 does facilitate the installation of the cover since when mounting the cover it only requires the alignment of one receiving aperture with one cover clip.

A worker skilled in the relevant art would also be familiar with various other manners in which the cover 310 can be secured to a housing of the present invention. For example, the inner lip 320 could have an increased thickness providing a tighter fit or snap fit which further stabilizes the cover onto the housing of the present invention. The installation of the cover 310 through a tight fit would eliminate the need for any receiving apertures as shown in FIG. 8. A worker skilled in the relevant art would also be familiar with the use of various other interconnecting members with one member installed on the fan unit and interconnecting with a member installed on cover 310. For example, the use of serrated edges along members positioned on the cover and the fan unit would secure the cover to the housing.

With reference to FIGS. 9 and 9 a, a cover 310 is aligned with housing 20 of the present invention through the use of cover clips 210 and 220 as extending away from fan unit 40 wherein aperture 340 receives clip 210 and clip 220 is inserted into aperture 330. The benefit of this arrangement is the ease in which the cover 310 may be attached to a housing of the present invention by cover clips 210 and 220 since there is no need to place fingers in between the cover 310 and a housing in order to feel where the cover is to be secured as commonly found in present housings.

With reference to FIG. 10, various cover clips shapes are shown which would allow for the securing of a cover onto any housing for an exhaust fan with corresponding receiving apertures on the cover. Specifically, cover clips could be shaped as an elongated hexagon 500, a tear drop 510 or a balloon 520. In order for the receiving apertures as positioned on the cover and the cover clips of the present invention to be effective, all that is required is that the cover clips have a greater inner width 550 within its overall shape which is flexible and defined as the retention width which can pass through the receiving apertures width 560 defined as the receiving width. The receiving apertures width 560 as shown through the dotted lines is narrower than the retention width as would be defined by the cover clips. Therefore, the use of any specific shape is not required since all that is required is that the cover clips have a retention width that is flexible and greater than the receiving width of the receiving apertures. A worker skilled in the relevant art would be familiar with the various shapes that could be used on the cover clips as well as the materials used to fabricate the cover clips allowing for its flexibility and eventual retention of the cover onto an adaptable fan housing or any fan housing. The present invention also covers a cover as defined in FIGS. 9-10 which can be installed on commonly used fan housings as would be known by a worker skilled in the relevant art.

Although the invention has been described above by reference to certain embodiments of the invention, the invention is not limited to the embodiments described above. Modifications and variations of the embodiments described above will occur to those skilled in the art in light of the above teachings. Moreover, with respect to the above description, it is to be repulsed that the optimum dimensional relationships for the component members of the present invention may include variations in size, material, shape, form, funding and manner of operation. 

Having thus described the invention, it is now claimed:
 1. An adaptable fan housing comprising: at least one fixture marking positioned along a housing edge of the fan housing; at least one positioning clip for operatively coupling to the housing edge at a corresponding fixture marking of the at least one fixture marking on the housing; wherein the at least one positioning clip facilitates mounting of the housing in an opening.
 2. An adaptable fan housing according to claim 1, further comprising at least one securing clip for operatively coupling to the at least one positioning clip and the housing.
 3. An adaptable fan housing according to claim 1, further comprising a plurality of positioning clips.
 4. An adaptable fan housing according to claim 1, wherein the housing has at least one rail housing support for further facilitating the mounting of the housing in the opening.
 5. An adaptable fan housing according to claim 1, further comprising a fan unit operatively coupled to the housing.
 6. An adaptable fan housing according to claim 1, further comprising at least one rail for operatively coupling to a corresponding support of the at least one rail housing support in the housing.
 7. An adaptable fan housing according to claim 5, further including a fan cover; wherein the fan unit further includes at least one cover clip for flexibly engaging at least one receiving aperture in the fan cover to mount the fan cover to the housing.
 8. A fan housing system comprising: a) a fan housing; b) a fan cover having at least one receiving aperture; c) a fan unit for operatively coupling to the fan housing and having at least one cover clip for flexibly engaging the at least one receiving aperture to mount the fan cover to the housing.
 9. The fan housing system according to claim 8, wherein the fan cover has at least two receiving apertures that are offset from one another for ease of mounting.
 10. The fan housing according to claim 8, wherein the at least one cover clips has a retention width that is less than an aperture width of the at least one receiving aperture.
 11. The fan housing according to claim 8 wherein the cover has an inner lip that further stabilizes the cover onto the housing. 